Resources

Nicolas Thomä

The molecular basis of genome maintenance

The information stored in the genome of each cell is constantly protected against endogenous and exogenous attack. Enzymatic maintenance processes are in place that repair mutations and prevent duplication or deletion events. Thus, genetic and epigenetic information is faithfully passaged to the progeny. On a biomedical level, defects in these pathways are frequently associated with cancer. Genome integrity is maintained through large multi-component nano-machines. We focus on protein complexes at the interface of DNA repair, replication and chromatin. My laboratory has set out to combine structural biology, cell biology and complex biochemical in vitro reconstitutions to address the molecular workings of these chromatin-bound complex assemblies. Our focus is on machines that detect and repair mutations in the DNA, and those that make possible the accurate passage of epigenetic information to the daughter generation.